The Pirates don’t have any time to breathe easy after winning a series in Milwaukee – they’ve still got a good amount of ground to make up, and now they’ve got another matchup with an opponent they’re chasing. St. Louis has been playing better of late and has a somewhat firm grasp on a Wild Card spot for now, and is also right in the thick of the division hunt.

The Cardinals made two somewhat questionable moves at the trade deadline, acquiring Justin Masterson and Lackey. Masterson has been bad, while Lackey has been…OK (one brutal start skews his Cards numbers, he’s also had two pretty good ones and one mediocre outing). I was underwhelmed by those moves at the time, especially since they gave up big league pieces (Joe Kelly and Allen Craig) to get Lackey, and so far they don’t look great, although the Cards are playing well enough to make it a non-issue for now. Remember, they are still without Yadier Molina, but have been handling his absence pretty well with A.J. Pierzynski behind the plate.

The Pirates know plenty about the other two Cards starters this week. Lynn has had his bad moments and good moments against the Pirates, but this year he’s been really solid overall…and Wainwright needs no introduction. The Pirates will face St Louis’ best three starters this week, but the Bucs will throw (hopefully) a nice 1-2 punch back at them in Liriano and Cole.

So far this year the Bucs have won both home series against the Cards and lost both series on the road. They need to win this one, especially considering that all their other competition (Brewers, Braves, Giants) all have easy opponents this week. The Pirates have played well at home for most of the season and it’s absolutely crucial that they keep it up this week.

News and notes:

The Pirates claimed some guy named Bobby LaFromboise off waivers. He’s a lefty reliever that looks like AAA fodder to me, and he’s headed to Indy. Unfortunately he is not actually from Boise, ID.

Tony Sanchez is playing some first base for Triple-A Indy. I think that’s more about finding playing time for catching prospect Elias Diaz than about finding a place for Sanchez, who still isn’t doing much with the bat. Sigh.